The two of them shook their heads at him simultaneously, giving him a meaningful look.

Xiao Jincheng was dissatisfied. "Actually, I'm a pretty good cook too. Don't look down on me!"

Xiao Muyu couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Dad, turn around and look."

He turned around and saw Xu Feng and Li Guizhi standing in the entrance of the restaurant.

He chuckled, "I was hoping to test if you guys could tell by the taste, but I didn't expect you to be found out so quickly."

Xu Feng rolled her eyes at him, "Lying in front of the children, you're setting a really good example!"

Xiao Jincheng touched his nose guiltily, then turned to the two and said, "Xiaoyu, Xiaolizi, you two don't copy me, okay?"

Li Guizhi said with a smile, "Don't worry, our two children are very smart. They know what they should learn and what they shouldn't learn."

Seeing that she had calmed down, Jiang Xiaoli fawned over her and set out the bowls and chopsticks for her. "Let's eat! Today we'll taste the chef's skills at Yunxiang Grand Hotel!"

After the meal, she pouted and concluded, "Home-cooked meals are still the best; this fancy restaurant is no good."

Li Guizhi was amused by her, "If you always say that outside, people will think you've never seen the world."

She shook her index finger dramatically, "No, no, no, that just means they know nothing about your cooking skills!"

The two mothers were all smiles as she coaxed them.

...

On the morning of the tenth day of the lunar month, Jiang Xiaoli followed Zong Jia to the food factory.

Wei Dong threw a tantrum as soon as he saw her, "So, Little Boss Jiang has finally decided to come and visit the factory?"

Jiang Xiaoli chuckled, "Uncle Wei, thank you for your hard work!"

She had to coax Wei Dong for a while before he would stop, "Alright, since you had Xiao Zong bring me so many things, I won't hold it against you, you little girl."

Zong Jiayu smiled and handed her a document, "This is the factory's overtime situation during the Spring Festival."

She glanced at it briefly and said, "No problem, we'll pay everyone overtime pay as planned this month."

Wei Dong chuckled and said, "Oh my, the factory must be bustling today. I've never heard of any factory giving its workers triple pay for the New Year."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled and said, "We need such a large amount of goods during the Spring Festival. If it weren't for the workers' cooperation, our warehouse would have been emptied long ago."

"That's true. Have you seen the recent sales reports?"

She nodded. "I've seen it all. We had a prosperous New Year, haha."

Wei Dong laughed so hard his double chin trembled. "Haha, yes, yes, we had a prosperous New Year!"

After leaving Wei Dong, Jiang Xiaoli went to Zong Jiayu's office.

She leaned back on the sofa. "Deputy Factory Director Zong, what are your plans for the new market promotion after the New Year?"

Zong Jia pointed to the map and said, "Now we have taken over several provinces around us. My next target is Shandong Province and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region."

Jiang Xiaoli nodded, "Okay, do you have enough staff on the sales side right now?"

Zong Jia and Xiao Xiao said, "That's enough. We've reserved five people for each of the nine provinces currently promoting the program; the rest are all available."

She gave an OK sign. "I'll say it again: keep in touch with the provinces where we've promoted our products, and don't let anything go wrong. Our new factory will be in production in another month or two. Anyone who affects the launch of my new product will be fired."

"No problem, Mr. Jiang."

...

On February 27th, with only one day left before school started, Jiang Xiaoli suddenly received a phone call that surprised her.

Tian Xiaomeng was sobbing on the other end of the phone; she hated useless tears the most.

Jiang Xiaoli said directly, "You rambled on and on, and I couldn't understand a word you said. Why don't you organize your thoughts before calling back? Phone calls are quite expensive."

Tian Xiaomeng paused for two seconds, as if to compose herself, and then sobbed, "Xiaoli, can you come out and see me?"

After thinking it over, Jiang Xiaoli agreed. School starts tomorrow, and she can't avoid Tian Xiaomeng if she wants to see her.

Instead of arguing with her at school, it's better to find a quiet place with fewer people.

The two met near their old junior high school, and Jiang Xiaoli suddenly craved the fried skewers there.

She was eating a fried skewer sandwich when Tian Xiaomeng came over and called out to her, "Xiaoli."

Jiang Xiaoli walked to the side with her, "What do you want to see me about?"

Tian Xiaomeng seemed to have been preparing for a long time, and she dropped a bombshell right from the start: "Xiaoli, I'm pregnant."

"Pfft!" She was so shocked that she spat out what was in her mouth.

She quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and asked incredulously, "Say it again, what's wrong with you?"

Although Tian Xiaomeng's voice was not loud, her words were very clear: "I'm pregnant."

Jiang Xiaoli looked at her like she was an idiot, "Wang Xu's?"

She nodded. "Yes, I've only ever been with him."

Jiang Xiaoli had known for a long time that the two of them were together, but she really didn't expect them to progress so quickly.

"So what do you mean by looking for me?"

With a pleading look on her face, Tian Xiaomeng said, "Xiaoli, I want to borrow some money from you for my surgery. I know you have money now, please help me, otherwise I'm doomed."

Jiang Xiaoli understood, and she resolutely refused, "I sympathize with your situation, but I can't lend you money for such a big thing as surgery. If something goes wrong with your surgery, your mother won't let me off the hook."

Tian Xiaomeng panicked and grabbed Jiang Xiaoli's arm, "Xiaoli, no, my mom won't know."

Jiang Xiaoli broke free and retorted, "You come to borrow money, but what about Wang Xu? Doesn't he care about you?"

She opened her mouth, but finally said, "He couldn't borrow it... Xiao Li, please help me, I still want to study..."

Jiang Xiaoli firmly refused, "I really can't help you with this, I'm sorry."

After saying that, she glanced at the taxis that were driving by on the side of the road, hailed one, and drove away in one smooth motion.

On her way home, she kept thinking about it and stopped paying attention to it.

Why does she feel so uncomfortable that this scumbag got away with it so easily?

It wasn't until Li Guizhi returned from grocery shopping in the residential area that she saw her almost bump into the fence of the community garden.

"Hey! Watch your step! What are you thinking about so intently?" She pulled her daughter back to the middle of the road.

Jiang Xiaoli glanced at her, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Mom, I want to tell you something."

Seeing that she had been absent-minded just moments before, and now looked serious, Li Guizhi took her daughter's hand and said, "Come on, let's go home and talk."

When the mother and daughter returned home, Li Guizhi hugged her and said, "Tell me what's wrong. No matter what, Mom is here for you. Don't worry too much."

Jiang Xiaoli realized she had misunderstood, and she quickly waved her hand, "Mom, it's not about me! It's about Tian Xiaomeng!"

When Li Guizhi heard that it wasn't about her daughter, her anxiety instantly subsided.

"Tian Xiaomeng? You went out to see her? Didn't you say you weren't going to hang out with her anymore?"

Jiang Xiaoli's eyes darted around. She organized her thoughts and began to tell her mother, "It's like this..."